Benedetta Pilato Punches 1:03.56 SCM 100 Breast At Italian Juniors

2022 NATIONAL ITALIAN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

• March 25th – March 27th (@omen’s)
• Riccione, Italy
• SCM (25m)
• Live Results
• SwimSwam Italia Coverage
• Live Stream

Olympian Benedetta Pilato turned heads today in her native Italy, competing on day one of the 2022 National Junior Championships.

In the women’s short course meters 100 breaststroke, 17-year-old Pilato wowed the crowd with a monster time of 1:03.56. Not only did that top the podium for gold here in Riccione, but her time also established a new Cadette Record in the event. Her 1:03.56 easily surpassed the 1:05.68 prior record Arianna Castiglioni put on the books in 2015.

For Pilato, she scorched an opening 50 of 29.85 before staying strong with a back half 33.71. She beat the field by well over 3 seconds en route to capturing the top prize.

In fact, Pilato’s time here nearly caught her own national record for this SCM 100 breast. She owns the Italian standard with her lifetime best of 1:03.55 she notched in November of 2020 as a member of Team Energy Standard in the International Swimming League.

At the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Pilato was in the conversation for a possible minor medal in the women’s 100m breast; however, she wound up being disqualified in the prelims and did not advance.

She rebounded with a silver in the 50m breast at the 2021 European Short Course Championships and also at the 2021 FINA Short Course World Championships,